Page 47 of Say Now
Dale smiled."Oh, it was very easy in the end.I expected it to be a lot harder, but I had to do it.She wouldn’t have received any punishment for her mistakes, so I took matters into my own hands, so to speak.You can judge me all you like, but it had to be done.It didn’t matter that she was my sister.She deserved to die, and the world is a better place because of it."
"You’re supposed to be a cop, one of the good guys," Alison said."You killed three people.You carried in dirt to cover one of them, for goodness' sake.Do you really think you’re on the side of good?"
"You’ve heard how the press is talking," Dale said."The message will spread far and wide, and all these doctors will think twice before releasing the criminals we work so hard to put behind bars.I understand fully that my acts are crimes, but it’s all for the greater good.My acts will save hundreds of people in the future.You know that’s the truth."
"It’s not the truth," Alison said."It’s far from the truth.You’re looking at what you believe are mistakes, but you have no idea how many people we’ve saved with our decision.By killing those who can make the decisions, we are spread thin, and we make more mistakes.You’re not getting justice, Dale, you only think you are."
Dale took a long breath in through his nose, waving his gun around a little."I know what I’m doing is right.I’ve been one step ahead of you all this time, Dr.Payne.I got you to do exactly what I wanted you to do."
"Was it always the plan to frame Tommy, or did that come about later?"Alison asked."Did you adapt when we called from Butte?"
"Ha!"Dale laughed."You have no idea what is really going on, do you?"
I have a very good idea of what is going on, and I only need you to admit to it all, and I have you.
She looked at the gun in his hand.He wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary, but that time might come, and she needed to be ready.
"You’re here tonight to kill me, aren’t you?"Alison asked."You might have got the better of me, but you were still afraid I might work it out, so you’re here to kill me, and if you brought Tommy along for the ride, then it’s your plan to make it look like he escaped and did it?And then what?A murder suicide?"
"You are smart," Dale said."Yes, that's the gist of it.They'll find an officer in a car a couple of blocks from here.They'll believe me when I tell them that Tommy somehow got out and knocked both of us out, only for me to come to shortly after and go after him.It won't be a murder suicide.The murder part you have right, but I'll arrive here just in time to kill Tommy as he comes at me.For you, it'll be too late.I would love to reenact a crime scene from one of your mistakes, but you were never a part of the original plan.It was always the plan to frame Tommy for this.I knew Arturo was talking to him about the crime scene and the way he felt.That was always his problem.Arturo liked to talk too much.You'll be the last victim, and Tommy will be dead.His crime spree will end with that, but who knows?Maybe in a couple of years, another killer will pop up, and everyone might question whether they got the right person the first time around.Don't worry, I'll be there to help guide the investigation."
"Please, let me go and I’ll go straight home," Alison begged, putting on her best act."I promise that I won't bother you again.You have my word."
"I don't believe a word you say," Dale said."I’m sorry, but you’re not going anywhere.I really wish I could save you, Dr.Payne, but you’re not going anywhere.You need to learn to keep your big nose out of other people’s business.You could have gone home after we had Marcus, but you had to stick around.You had to believe you were better than everyone else because you knew he wasn’t the killer."
"I was right, wasn’t I?I had it figured out when no one else did."
Dale chuckled."You're forgetting that I also had it all figured out.I thought it might fool you, but I guess I was wrong.That's why I wanted to test the waters with Tommy here.Have you been in the room and seen if my scapegoat would be enough, and you proved that he was.You really do think you're so clever, but you've only known what I've allowed you to see.Now, shall we let Tommy watch as I gut you like a fish before putting a bullet through his head?"
Alison was scared.If he pounced on her, she might not have any time to get away, but she wasn’t ready to stop there.She wanted it all to come out, and she was certain there was more.
"The original plan was to have him locked up for the crimes and then have him killed in jail, wasn’t it?"Alison asked.
The smile dropped, and his anger came dripping out for a moment before he regained himself."I’m nothing if not adaptable."
"I have to admit it was a perfect plan.No one would believe Tommy was innocent, no matter what he claimed, and with you pulling the strings from the shadows, you would make sure he went down for all of this.And now, you can just kill him and get everything you want, but far quicker and with less risk to you."
"Maybe I haven’t given you enough credit," Dale admitted."I’ll admit that you have some intelligence, but it’s far too late."
"It’s weird that he went off grid two weeks ago, only to show up in a diner.That doesn’t make sense if he’s the killer, but we know he’s not.It does make sense if he’s doing something else that he doesn’t want to speak about, especially in front of the police.It took me a while, but you had him go off-grid, didn't you?What was it?An anonymous call telling him you knew the truth about his brother and that you would share, but you were putting yourself at risk, and he might be at risk, too?That he should lie low and stay away from cops in the city.Is that what happened?Did you promise to give him the truth?That’s ironic, seeing as you do know the truth.You were the one who threatened Arturo’s mother, weren’t you?"
Dale had a tight smile plastered on his face.He didn't like that she knew so much about what he had done.He took another long breath through his nose, trying to stay in control.
"Very good.I’ll admit that I didn't think you would get to that.Yeah, I called him, knowing that he would do anything to find out the truth about his brother.I knew he wouldn’t cause any trouble when we brought him in for murder, because he just needed to hear the truth, and he would know it was retaliation against him.He would know to keep his mouth shut in case the wrong person heard him talking about his brother and took matters into their own hands.We were face-to-face in the interview room, and he didn't know I was the person on the other end of the phone.He didn't know I was his puppet master all this time."
"So, you do something back then, and Arturo finds out, and then what?He threatens to turn you in, so you orchestrate his death at the drug bust?"Alison asked.
"There are so many bullets flying at those things that who knows who shot who.I wasn’t there, so I can't tell you, but someone must have shot Arturo."
"He was worried he was in trouble," Alison said."He told his mother.I think he told Tommy, too.But he didn't mention you by name.I don't think he truly believed you would hurt him."
"It was for the best that she dropped the case, or I would have had to hurt her.Thankfully, she saw reason pretty quickly.I even counseled her a little in person, always manipulating.It can be so easy when you know people."
"It has to be planting evidence; that’s the only way it all fits together into a neat parcel."
"Go on," Dale said, giddy that he got to share his story before he killed them both.
"You planted the evidence at Tommy’s apartment.Your whole thing is about seeking justice.You have killed people to achieve that, but you believed they deserved it.You believed that criminals back then deserved punishment, too, so you planted evidence on the criminals you knew for a fact were committing crimes so they could be arrested.Arturo found out, and he wanted to report you, rightly.It was all for the greater good, though, right?You did it all to save people."
